Results tagged ‘ Dan Haren ’
Street set to pitch … if something goes wrong
This is the day that right-handed reliever Huston Street is supposed to return to action, but manager Jim Tracy said there’s a good chance it won’t happen.
Tracy doesn’t want Street’s first action to be in a close game. But with the Rockies starting righty Ubaldo Jimenez and the D-backs going with Dan Haren, it’s likely to be a cloe, low-scoring game.
“I’d like to see the game be somewhat one-sided, one way or the other to try this out,” Tracy said.
Tracy added that Street didn’t look bad in Friday afternoon’s simulated game, but he was not as sharp as he would need to be in a close game. How long will it take for him to regain the sharpness? Tracy said it may take as litle as one game.
But once Street is determined ready, expect him to be moved back into the closer role, with lefty Franklin Morales becoming a key setup man.
One question for Sunday was the availability of righty setup man Rafael Betancourt, who was dealing with soreness in his right calf. Tracy said he was relieved the problem wasn’t with hit right groin. While with the Indians, before being traded to the Rockies in July, Betancourt missed six weeks with a groin strain.
No patience with walks
Rockies manager Clint Hurdle has attempted to maintain a consistent and calm demeanor, even though the execution and fundamentals the Rockies emphasized all spring have been lacking. But that patience disappears when relievers can’t throw strikes in the late innings of close games.
Huston Street lost his closer job that way last week at Wrigley Field. Tuesday night, Hurdle unceremoniously yanked righty setup man Jason Grilli when he walked two in the eighth inning of the 9-6 victory over the D-backs.
There would have been cause for Hurdle to try to let Grilli escape. By using lefty Alan Embree to complete the inning, Hurdle left himself with only Manuel Corpas to finish the game. The only other reliever on the squad, Jason Hammel, had thrown two innings the previous game, and Franklin Morales’ injury early in Tuesday’s game meant Hammel was going to move into the starting rotation.
But he was not going to lose a game because Grilli wasn’t throwing strikes.
“We’ve got no time for walks late in ballgames,” Hurdle said. “Nobody. We’re not going to put up with that. If you can’t throw the ball over the plate late in a ballgame, I’ve got to get somebody else. It’s that simple.
“If you want more, and you’ve got an opportunity to do more but you walk two left-handed batters and you’re missing on your arm side six or seven straight pitches, I’ve got to go get you. He knows that.
“You saw the guy two nights ago, then you saw the guy last night. I asked him, ‘Which guy are you?’ That’s part of the challenge that’s in front of him. If you want more, do more.”
Here are the lineups for Wednesday afternoon:
Rockies
Ryan Spilborghs CF
Jeff Baker 2B
Todd Helton 1B
Garrett Atkins 3B
Brad Hawpe RF
Troy Tulowitzki SS
Chris Iannetta C
Seth Smith LF
Jorge De La Rosa P
D-backs
Felipe Lopez 2B
Stephen Drew SS
Conor Jackson LF
Mark Reynolds 3B
Chad Tracy 1B
Chris Young CF
Eric Byrnes RF
Chris Snyder C
Dan Haren P
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